Foo Fighters to Christen New Washington, D.C. Venue The Anthem

Foo Fighters have signed on to headline the opening of the Anthem, Washington, D.C.’s new and highly-anticipated venue located within the Wharf, a new multi-billion-dollar development complex situated along the banks of the Potomac River. The band will help christen the venue on Oct. 12.

With all the chaos coming out of Washington D.C. these days, the news that Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters will be the first to play a hot new venue that is poised to become a favorite amongst musicians and fans alike is the best intel to come out of Washington in a long time. Grohl grew up around the D.C. scene, which made him a natural fit to open the venue.

"The new place is set to become the No. 1 venue in America, I s--t you not,” Grohl enthusiastically told Billboard after touring the site. “It has the illusion of a stadium, but the intimacy of a nightclub. It's perfect.”

Grohl said a big part of his decision to play the Anthem opening comes down to Seth Hurwitz, the primary figurehead for the D.C.-based independent promotions company which had a 30-year lease on the new property. Hurwitz also owns the city's storied 9:30 Club.

”The great thing about Seth, outside of knowing him personally for 30 years, is that he actually cares. He cares about the music. He cares about the audience. He cares about the band. And he knows what he's doing,” Grohl said. "To see him take pride in that and remain independent is inspiring. It's very 'DC' of him."

The prospect of operating the Anthem seemingly has energized the already energetic Hurwtiz. “It’s just been this wonderful, exciting and incredibly fun thing,” said the promoter. “I can’t wait for it to open.”

Landing anyone else other than hometown hero Grohl and his Foos for the Anthem’s opening night was never even an option for Hurwitz. “There was no Plan B,” said Hurwitz. “It was always just the Foos. I texted Dave some photos of the venue after we started building it and asked him, ‘Who else should open it?’ He said, ‘Nobody.’ That was the end of it.”

Tickets for the Anthem opening with Foo Fighters go on sale Friday (June 16) at 10am through ticketfly.com. Foo Fighters just released "Run," a surprise single with corresponding video on June 1. The song debuted at No 9 on the Billboard Rock Airplay Chart.